Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

255 results found

Durrington Walls

(Encyclopedia)Durrington Walls, large henge overlooking the River Avon near Stonehenge and Amesbury, Wiltshire, S England. Although damaged and diminished by farming, erosion, and road construction, the henge would...

chlorophyll

(Encyclopedia)CE5 chlorophyll klôrˈəfĭlˌ [key], green pigment that gives most plants their color and enables them to carry on the process of photosynthesis. Chemically, chlorophyll has several similar forms...

Choate, Joseph Hodges

(Encyclopedia)Choate, Joseph Hodges chōt [key], 1832–1917, American lawyer and diplomat, b. Salem, Mass.; nephew of Rufus Choate. After being admitted (1855) to the bar, he moved to New York City. His legal care...

Père David's deer

(Encyclopedia)Père David's deer pĕr dävēdzˈ [key], Asian deer, Elaphurus davidianus, known only in a semidomesticated state. Also known as milu and elaphure, it has a bulky, donkeylike body, reaching a shoulde...

theremin

(Encyclopedia)theremin thĕrˈəmən [key], one of the earliest electronic musical instruments, invented (1920) in the Soviet Union and named for its creator, Leon Theremin. A forerunner of the synthesizer, it cons...

stereochemistry

(Encyclopedia)stereochemistry, study of the three-dimensional configuration of the atoms that make up a molecule and the ways in which this arrangement affects the physical and chemical properties of the molecule. ...

gull

(Encyclopedia)gull, common name for an aquatic bird of the family Laridae, which also includes the tern and the jaeger. It is found near all oceans and many inland waters. Gulls are larger and bulkier than terns, a...

coatimundi

(Encyclopedia)coatimundi kōätˈē [key], omnivore of North and South America related to the raccoon. The coatimundi has a long snout, an elongated body, and a long bushy tail banded with dark rings. The coat colo...

Enceladus

(Encyclopedia)Enceladus ĕnsĕlˈədəs [key], in astronomy, one of the named moons, or natural satellites, of Saturn. Also known as Saturn II (or S2), Enceladus is 310 mi (500 km) in diameter, orbits Saturn at a m...

Strauss-Kahn, Dominique Gaston André

(Encyclopedia)Strauss-Kahn, Dominique Gaston André dōmēnēkˈ gästôNˈ äNdrāˈ sträs-känˈ [key], 1949–, French economist, lawyer, and politician , b. Neuilly, Ph.D. Univ. of Paris, 1975. A lecturer and ...